2025 Winner - Bathurst Meals on Wheels

2025 Meals on Wheels NSW Innovation Awards

Bathurst Meals on Wheels 'Centralised Management of Home Care Package (HCP) Provider Relationships by NSW Meals on Wheels' Initiative

Executive Summary
There is a clear opportunity for NSW Meals on Wheels to take a centralised role in managing Home Care Package (HCP) provider relationships. At present, each local service negotiates with providers independently, creating duplication, inconsistent practices, and administrative strain. Meanwhile, competitors like Lite n’ Easy and new players like Capital Chemist are gaining market share by offering providers a single, simple point of contact.

This proposal outlines a model where NSW MOW liaises directly with HCP providers on behalf of services that choose to opt in. Local services would continue to manage client relationships and service delivery, while NSW MOW provides a unified, professional interface for providers. This dual approach could secure MOW’s place as the preferred meal partner for HCP providers statewide.

Why This Matters
• We are losing clients: In Bathurst alone, up to 10 HCP clients per month are being lost to corporate providers simply because they are easier for packages to work with. Extrapolated statewide, the impact is enormous.
• CHSP is ending: When Support at Home comes into effect, even more clients will transition to packages, accelerating this loss.
• Beat competitors: Lite n’ Easy isn’t winning on food quality; they’re winning on simplicity. We need to match and exceed that at the provider level.
• Reduce duplication: Instead of ~100 services managing 30 providers each (around 3,000 separate agreements, compliance sets, and admin relationships), this model reduces it to 100 services providing updates once a year to NSW MOW, who then liaises with those 30 providers.
• Stronger negotiating position: Acting as one entity gives NSW MOW greater leverage with providers.
• Refocus local teams: Free up services to focus on clients, not paperwork.
• Share provider access: Some services currently work with providers others can’t access. Centralisation opens up those relationships to everyone.
• Sector appetite: At recent networking events and online meetings, managers across the state have expressed deep concern about losing clients as clients transition to HCP. Early conversations with other service leaders, indicate strong support for this idea, and it has the potential to quickly gain momentum across the network.

For HCP Providers, This Means:
One agreement.
One set of compliance documents.
One point of contact for all opted‑in Meals on Wheels services across NSW.

What Providers Care About
HCP providers aren’t concerned about:
• What specific meals are being served in Bathurst vs Sydney.
• What packaging a client receives.
• How individual services brand themselves.
They are concerned about:
• Ease of administration – one agreement, one set of compliance documents, one point of contact.
• Pricing certainty – a clear, agreed preparation and delivery fee for all opted-in services.
• Confidence in compliance – knowing all participating services meet the same high standards.
• Value for their clients – welfare checks, follow-up, and human interaction - things corporate competitors don’t provide.

As a network, we’ve spent too long focusing on things that don’t matter to HCP
providers. It’s time to shift our energy to the things that do.

The Risk of Inaction
If we don’t act:
• The current losses will escalate: In Bathurst alone, up to 10 HCP clients per month are already being lost. Multiply that across the state and add the coming Support at Home transition, and the risk to our client base is massive.
• Competitors will cement their advantage: Lite n’ Easy and now Capital Chemist are proving that simplicity wins. They will keep taking market share if we remain fragmented.
• We lose sector relevance: Package providers will stop engaging with us altogether if we can’t offer a streamlined alternative.

This isn’t just about client numbers - it’s about the survival and future relevance of Meals on Wheels in the aged care landscape and giving clients what they need, not what is most convenient for a provider.

Division of Responsibilities: Clients vs Providers
Client ↔ Local Service (remains unchanged):
• Meal options, recipes, and packaging decisions.
• Local branding and service identity.
• Direct client relationships, including welfare checks, follow-up, and personalised
care.
• Setting and managing client contribution amounts.
Provider ↔ NSW MOW (new centralised role):
• Agreed standard preparation and delivery fee charged to package providers (inclusive of an admin fee for NSW MOW).
• Management of provider agreements, compliance, and evidence submissions.
• Acting as the single point of contact for provider head offices.
• Maintaining up-to-date compliance files for all participating services.
This distinction ensures that client experience stays fully local, while NSW MOW handles the complex, provider-facing administration that will make us the most attractive option for package providers.

How It Would Work
1. Centralised Provider Liaison: NSW MOW manages communication, agreements, and compliance with HCP providers.
2. Compliance & Evidence Management: NSW MOW holds up-to-date compliance files for all opted-in services, including insurance certificates, onboarding processes, and evidence of meeting provider requirements. Each service submits updated documentation annually.
3. Provider Assurance: NSW MOW effectively signs off to providers that all participating services meet required standards, backed by evidence.
4. Support & Templates: NSW MOW provides guidance and templates (e.g., onboarding documents) to help services meet provider requirements.
5. Opt-In Model with Mapping: Services opt in as they choose. NSW MOW creates a map of all opted-in services, giving providers a clear view of our statewide coverage and reach.
6. Pricing: This model is self‑funded through the inclusion of an administration fee within the agreed rate, ensuring NSW MOW can deliver this function without burdening its existing budget. Services agree on a standard preparation and delivery fee (inclusive of an administration fee for NSW MOW). For Support at Home, we could adopt a single standard price fully charged to the provider.
7. Invoicing Options: Invoicing could remain with each service (providers maintain multiple admin files) or be centralised with NSW MOW invoicing on their behalf, to be determined with service and provider input.

What This Is NOT
• Not a takeover of local services: Local services maintain full autonomy over operations, pricing (where applicable), and client relationships.
• Not compulsory: Services can opt in or out.
• Not about standardising recipes or packaging: Client experience stays fully local. This focuses solely on simplifying provider relationships.

Benefits for NSW MOW
• Stronger positioning: Becomes the single, trusted point of contact for providers.
• Increased market share: Makes it easier for providers to refer clients statewide.
• Enhanced reputation: Positions MOW as a coordinated, professional alternative to corporate competitors.
• Statewide insights: Provides valuable data on provider needs and trends to inform strategy and advocacy.

Next Steps
• Survey providers: Understand their needs, interest, and concerns.
• Form a working group: Use NSW MOW’s working parties to co-design the model.
• Pilot program: Trial with a few services and providers.
• Statewide rollout: Gradually expand to all interested services.

Conclusion
This is our chance to compete where it has the biggest impact: at the provider level. By centralising HCP provider management and providing a single point of assurance, NSW MOW can take the one thing competitors do better and do it even better, making Meals on Wheels the provider of choice for Home Care Packages across NSW.